Stickybottle

Pro rider recovering after mysterious hit and run while training

Posted on: March 20th, 2017

Pro rider recovering after mysterious hit and run while training

Ane Sentesteban is one of the most promising riders in Spain and rides professionally with Italian women’s team ALE-Cipollini. The 26-year old was out training last Friday when she was struck by a car who fled the scene. Luckily, she avoided serious injury and could return to training in the coming days.

By Brian Canty

Spanish police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the mysterious hit-and-run incident last week that left 2013 national champion Ane Santesteban in hospital.

The Basque rider, a road professional with World Tour women’s team Ale Cipollini was found lying on the road in a pool of blood with her bike propped against a hedgerow nearby.

The story has received widespread coverage in the media in Spain and the police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with any information to come forward.

Thankfully, Santesteban who competed in the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana recently, is making a good recovery and has returned home since the incident on Friday.

“I am returning home. I don’t know what happened,” she said on Twitter at the weekend.

“I don’t think I will ever remember it, but now I need calm to continue with the recovery.”

A passing motorist found Santesteban in an unconscious state on the road and immediately alerted the Police and the ambulance services.

It’s unclear exactly what happened but the most likely scenario is she was hit by a car, with the driver exiting the vehicle, putting the bike against the hedge and driving off, police believe.

The stricken rider was rushed to a nearby hospital and treated for her injuries though she seems to have escaped anything serious.

“In a few days everything will be in a scare and I will ride again with more desire and strength than ever. Thank you very much to all,” she said in a follow-up tweet.

Comments

comments

Where did the name come from?

A stickybottle, put simply, is the knackered cyclist’s best friend.
As a rider is being dropped from a group, the team manager or support worker in a following car holds a bottle out the window to hand it up.
As the handover is taking place, the rider grabs the bottle tight, as does whoever is handing it up, enabling the rider get a good tow and push from momentum of the car.
It’s known as a stickybottle because it appears neither the rider nor the person handing it up is able to take their hand off the bottle; it looks stuck to their hands.
But please don’t try this at home. We’ve been slyly cheating this way all our lives; it takes a while to perfect.